Considering the sub-tropical climate of Florida, isn’t it peculiar that ice had so much to do in shaping our land surface? As a matter of record all of the surficial deposits making up the large part of the land surface of Florida were created and shaped during the geologic past (one to ten million years ago) when ice piled up on the poles and moved down over lower latitudes or when this ice was being melted. In the United States as this ice piled up on the North Pole and moved down over most of the middle western states, the water forming this ice came from ocean basins and the water in them was lowered as much as three to four hundred feet. At this time much of the Gulf and Atlantic bottoms was uncovered, land streams cut their valleys much deeper, ground water circulated much more vigorously and rocks through which it passed were dissolved faster. Later as this ice was melted the lower parts of stream valleys were filled with salt water and the streams became sluggish and deposited sediment in their valleys to make their flood-plains. Ground-water circulation was retarded and the bottoms of the Gulf and Atlantic were again covered. This uncovering of the bottoms of the Gulf and Atlantic followed by covering constitutes a cycle. Five of these cycles have been recognized in Florida, and the red sands, clay and gravel that make up the surface of most of Florida represent former bottoms of the Gulf and Atlantic, now raised out of these seas by land movements. Today we are living in a period following a time the northern and southern extremes of the earth were covered by ice, and this ice is still melting off of these areas. _In 71,000 acres of parks, valued at approximately $50,000,000, Florida offers the vacationer a natural wonderland he can explore. Within these park areas the visitor can discover for himself the “true” Florida by car, along foot trails, navigating tropical rivers and streams—or by following elevated boardwalks through hauntingly beautiful swamps._ [Illustration: Stalagmites resulting from varied origins. The center one was formed from the intergrowth of several stalagmites. The deposit on the left was developed as a series of flat basin-like parts, over which water splashed and cascaded to the floor, the basins being inclined in various directions. The right stalagmite began as did the left one but the basins were soon eliminated and the growth was made more regularly.] Deposits in Cave We have seen then in the preceding discussion how caves are formed largely in rocks saturated with water, and how by land movements and changes of sea level the caves and pores formed in this rock are moved above permanent water levels and exposed to air. It then becomes possible to deposit rock in the pores and caves rather than to increase their size by solution. As you go through the caves you will notice that the walls are wet and that water is oozing out of the pores of the rock.